George Weeks retired in 2006 after 22 years as political columnist for The Detroit News. His weekly Michigan Politics column is syndicated by Superior Features. Kudos to the Brothers Levin, Governor Jennifer Granholm, and other Michigan politicians for successfully beating drums that helped produce the commendable action by President George W. Bush to extend a lifeline to the auto industry.

"These are not ordinary circumstances," said Bush, correctly defying Senate Republicans and reversing his own previous position against the bailout. "In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action."

An earlier president dealing with auto industry grief was Michigan's Gerald R. Ford, who during the mid-1970s recession days touted a BAC button ("Buy a Car") as part of his Back America promotion.

Ford recalled that at the time, "Automobile plants were closing all over the country, causing massive layoffs." But those problems were not as massive as this year's mammoth economic meltdown.

During deliberations on Capitol Hill, and, ultimately, the consideration by Bush, there were no stronger voices for the auto industry than those of Senator Carl Levin and his older brother, Representative Sander Levin of Royal Oak, the Democratic nominee for governor in 1970 and 1974.

In an unusual joint statement, the Levins said Bush's action "gives the industry breathing room to cope with the global financial crisis and take restructuring steps essential to return to economic health."

There also was a joint press release with statements from Granholm and Lieutenant Governor John Cherry, who is expected to seek the 2010 Democratic nomination to replace term-limited Granholm.

Granholm thanked Bush "for using his executive authority to save millions of American jobs by providing bridge loans to the U.S. auto companies so they can build the products and cars that are the foundation of the future. The loans are recognition by the administration that the nation's fragile economy simply cannot sustain the human and economic toll of further massive job loss. The auto industry is the backbone of American manufacturing, and the ripple effects of bankruptcy would have touched communities and families all across our nation."

This issue brought considerable media time on the national front for Granholm, who has had a mixed record on the home front.

Last week on NBC's "Meet the Press," she did well in a testy face-off with ex-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a Michigan native who has been critical of Granholm's record and the auto bailout.

On Friday, Granholm had an impassioned defense of the auto industry during a CNN interview, branding as "total bunk" assertions that auto workers are overpaid.

She said: "The auto industry made mistakes in the past. I don't apologize for that. But they have been in the middle of a restructuring that leads us to the plug-in electric hybrid vehicle, exactly where people want to go.

"The unions have made enormous concessions, and they are going to make more, as is the rest of the industry.

"But to say that the auto industry is in the same position as the financial industry, when the financial industry is the one that caused this financial meltdown - the mortgage industry caused this meltdown. But to blame the auto industry for that, that's not fair."

Representative Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) a frequent Bush critic, said: "I commend him for stepping up to help the automakers and middle class Americans whose jobs depend on the auto industry at a time when Senate Republicans were willing to let the automakers collapse."

Representative Dave Camp (R-Midland) said: "This financing will ensure that the automakers have sufficient time to make the cuts and reforms necessary to remain viable and competitive. At the same time, it protects taxpayers by setting firm deadlines and stringent conditions on loan repayment."

And it is a loan - not a gift.